Killer whales and other cetaceans suffer so much in captivity, both physically and emotionally, that they shouldn’t be held at all—full stop… While cessation of breeding captive killer whales is a positive step, it wouldn’t address the profoundly distressed and depressed behaviors of killer whales who live now at SeaWorld. Each of these individuals has thoughts and feelings about his or her captivity, and we can’t turn away from these.

Tall-finned male L-41, with female L-22 at his left side and two other L-pod members traveling Haro Strait. When this photo was taken in 2013, he was 36 years old; she was 42. Photo Credit: Carl Safina